


Heartbeats

by curiousscientistkae



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: F/F, Glimmer worrying about herself being immortal, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Swearing, Worry, one day ill tag these better, using she they a bit again for Adora
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-02-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 12:09:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22376992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/curiousscientistkae/pseuds/curiousscientistkae
Summary: It has been a few years since the downfall of the Horde. Life is starting to settle down and peace is growing all over Etheria. Glimmer, still as queen, and Adora have been dating for sometime now and everything seems to be going well. However, when Adora gets seriously hurt during a common mission, panic starts to set in with Glimmer as one of her worse fears keeps playing in her mind
Relationships: Adora/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 7
Kudos: 58





	1. Fear

**Author's Note:**

> I semi lied yall. I wrote like this all a while ago and got stuck (ill explain more in a sec) and while trying to outline/figure out more I said fuck it and posted this to a) see if it will help me then write the rest like just having some of it finally posted ya know but b) also to slowly build my way up to writing a chapter fic. Since I really want to but diving right in is not helping
> 
> So that is my other point. There will be a couple more parts to this. Idk when since I have a lot of other things to do but it they will appear eventually. Anyway, as always enjoy y'all (and btw cause I keep meaning to say it I do read all o f y'all comments I just don't reply 9/10 cause my anxious ass never knows how to response)

It has been about three years since the fall of the Horde. Three years since the world was brought back into the greater universe. For the first time in a generation, there is a sense of peace all over the world. There is still much work to be done, however. While most of the Horde has either been defeated, prosecuted, or turned over a new leaf, there are still splinters left, hiding wherever they can. Robots, machines, and other deadly Horde creations can still be found, some active and dangerous. The work will never end at any time soon. But it will all be worth it eventually.

In the Kingdom of Brightmoon, many are hard at work keeping the peace and spreading it around. Years after being thrown into the role of queen without warning, Glimmer has settled into the position. She leads with confidence, vigor, and goodness. Even with both her parents miraculously returning home and Angella willing to take the pressure off of her daughter, Glimmer remains on the throne, wanting to rule for her people. Hopefully, she will lead for a long time to come. And even with her mother and father no longer in power, Glimmer is not on the throne alone. 

Upon reuniting after Glimmer was kidnapped by Horde Prime and after his downfall, Adora and Glimmer begun the process of healing. Apologizing for the things they said and did to each other. It was slow, it was tiring, but they did it. Both wanted each other back in their lives, feeling like something was missing without the other. During this time, they both realized there was something deeper they wanted. It took some time for both to realize it, from Glimmer never really thinking she would be in love with someone only for Adora to win her over, to Adora not knowing the word for what she felt. But finally, they came to the same conclusion and awkwardly admitted it. Ever since then their bond has only grown stronger. 

Three years they have been happily together. Adora helps Glimmer in any way possible with her duties as queen, not minding taking on work when her girlfriend needs a break. She practically has become as become the second queen of Brightmoon. On the flip side, Glimmer is more than eager to tell others about their adventures and the fact she is dating She-ra. The two work off of each other, support each other, and keep each other safe. The perfect match. 

While they try to spend as much time as possible together, that can not always be done. With work needing to be done, the two have days apart with their own respective jobs. Sometimes, those jobs will take one of them to far off parts of the planet. On one such day, a mission comes up that will take Adora away for some time. Nothing out of the ordinary for her. Going to some villages that are still being plagued by the remnants of her former family. Mostly just the stray robot that needs a deactivation. 

“How long are you gonna be?” Glimmer asks as Adora finishes getting ready for her trip.

“Eh, shouldn’t be too long. A week, maybe two? Depends on how much the villagers want me to stay around,” Adora jokes. The next thing she knows, she gets a mouth full of purple feathers. Adora spits them out and laughs, “ _ Jealous?” _

“No, I’m not. But I like knowing how long you’ll be gone for,” Glimmer replies, retracting her wings. 

Adora closes her bag and throws it over her shoulder. “There we go. I’ll call you when I get there. I hope you have fun with dealing with your upcoming political talks.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me!” 

Glimmer rest her head on Adora’s chest, her heartbeat filling her ears. If there is one thing she hates the most about being queen, is listening to others drone on and on for hours upon hours in meetings. It has to be done but Glimmer likes to be doing something rather than just sitting around. Adora is so much better when it comes to meetings. 

Adora runs her hand through Glimmer’s soft, pink and purple hair. Glimmer sighs, enjoying the feeling. How did she get so lucky to have Adora become part of her life? She instinctively wraps her wings around Adora, hugging her. After some moments pass, Adora stops and pushes her girlfriend off of her chest to rest her forehead on hers. “Once I get back, we can do some fun stuff. I think we both need a break after months of doing this. I know I do.”

“I pick it out this time. Last time we did something to relax you brought us to Huntara’s ‘gym’ and no offense but climbing a cliff is not relaxing to me even with wings.”

“Fair enough.”

Glimmer pushes herself up on her toes to place a kiss on the tip of Adora’s nose. The blonde grins and returns the favor before they part. Glimmer watches Adora leaving the castle, waving her goodbye. Once her silhouette disappears, Glimmer flies off to begin her own work. Every day seems to be filled with things to do. Before any meeting takes place, she decides to go grab something to eat. She spent all morning helping Adora pack and get ready for her trip and failed to get anything to eat. Her stomach is growling. 

She flies through an open window, not caring about it being ‘not queen like’, and lands softly on the floor. Glimmer walks the rest of the way to the kitchen. On her trek there, she spots her mother and father in the hallway. Glimmer stops looks at them, still overjoyed that she has them back. 

For such a long time, both Angella and Glimmer thought her father, Micah, was dead, killed by the Horde. A tough loss for both. Then, Angella sacrificed herself to stop the destruction of the planet. For a few months, Glimmer thought she was an orphan. But then things started to change. First her father came back from Beast Island thanks to the help of Adora and Bow. Glimmer recalls crying her eyes out when seeing her father again, holding him tight, and rarely leaving his side for quite some time. A short time afterwards, having been brought back to the universe thus releasing her, Angella suddenly appeared, reuniting the family of three. 

Glimmer smiles at the sight of seeing her mother and father laughing and enjoying being back together. So much time has been lost that they do everything they can to make up for it. Especially as Micah has grown so much older and only has so much time…

Glimmer shakes her head, clearing her mind. No. No need for that. Everything is perfect at the moment. Adora has left happily with a kiss to go do a simple mission. Glimmer is going to go to her boring queen meeting, and her parents will do whatever. Everything is fine and no need to ruin it. But she makes a mental note that if Adora forgets about calling, which is entirely possible, that by nighttime she checks in to make sure everything is alright. 

She continues on her walk, waving at her parents, and heads off to the kitchen. She gets a quick bite to eat, shoving her face with food to fill herself, before heading off to her meeting. Somehow she manages not to pass out during the drone out talks about what else is going on in the world or some political stuff about Brightmoon. After about an hour or so, she is finally freed. Well, somewhat. The rest of the day she is out around the outskirts of Brightmoon, talking to others and seeing how things are. By the time she is done with everything, night has arrived. The moons hang high in the sky and the stars shine brightly. But there is only one star she wants to see right now. 

“How ya doin’, Starlight?” Glimmer asks, looking at her communicator. Adora nervously smiles back at her. 

“Sorry I forgot to call! It’s slipped my mind but I have a little reminder now,” Adora holds up her index finger, showing a small purple band around it. “But I’m fine. Tired but alright. The little hostel this village is nice and cozy, thankfully. How are you?”

“Bored. Meeting was a snore fest but I survived! Don’t know what I’m gonna do tomorrow though. Not much going on.”

“I’m sure you will figure something out. Catra might be free.”

“I envy her and her free time. Maybe.”

“You’ll figure it out, hon,” Adora yawns, covering her mouth. 

“Get some rest, Adora. I’ll talk to you later, alright? I love you.”

Adora nods. “I love you too, Glim.”

The screen turns dark, leaving Glimmer alone. The next few days, Glimmer does her best to busy herself when there is a blank space in her schedule. Between more meetings, talking to others, and keeping up with her magic and staff wielding with training, she can be found napping, messing around with Catra (or messing  _ with  _ Catra) or the other princesses, hanging out with Bow, or spending time with her parents. During this time, she makes mental notes about where she would like to go to relax with Adora when she comes back and they both have the day off together. At the moment, the Mystacor hot springs sounds idyllic to her tired body. 

Nothing eventful happens during the week and half Adora is away. The two talk about every other night. Glimmer tells Adora all about the nothingness going on while Adora recounts her time going around village after village, helping them. During one night, Adora tells Glimmer about the next, second to last area they will be at, reading off the list they were given about how rogue robots running amuck. Nothing bad. Glimmer still wishes her luck and safety and about how much she can’t wait for her to return home. 

The next couple of days go on as normal, for the most part…

Glimmer spends one day training with Bow. Even with no threat of the Horde anymore, that doesn’t mean one shouldn’t be rusty in case anything else happens. She practices flying and teleporting around him, shooting sparkles at him. Bow ducks and dodges her attacks as best he can. When he gets to his feet, he fires his own arrows such as flash, net, and sticky ones. Both do their best to one up the other, able to land some hits or trip the other up. After sometime, when both are out of breath, they stop for a rest. 

“We need to do this more often. I need to loosen up every now and again,” Glimmer states, rolling her shoulder. 

“Agreed. It is nice. I still got to make new arrows to try and mess you up. Gotta beat you somehow with all your magic,” Bow jokes. 

Glimmer gives him a play punch to the shoulder. “We will see about that!”

She starts to laugh, walking back towards the castle. Bow follows quickly behind her and they begin talking about whatever comes to mind. During their talks, Glimmer starts to feel something bubbling in her chest. A heavy, constricting spreads across her body and it feels like a noose is twisting around her neck, tightening with every knot it creates. A sense of panic forms and it feels like something terrible has happened or is about to happen. Her heart picks up its pace, her breathing becomes ragged, and her body temperature becomes like the inside of an oven. 

“Hey, Glimmer, are you alright?” Bow asks. He stops and places a hand on his best friend. 

“I’m fine! I just,” Glimmer starts. With shaking hands, she clutches her chest and struggles to focus on her breathing. The only thought that comes to her mind is  _ Adora, Adora, Adora. _ “I think...I think I am having a panic attack for some reason. I don’t know why!”

“Hey, I am right here? Okay. Just keep taking deep breaths, alright? Everything is okay. Everything is fine.”

“Right...Right!” Everything is fine. Nothing is wrong. The world is safe and Adora will be home soon. The two will be back in each others arms and snuggled in the warmth of their shared bed. She always comes back safe and sound. Maybe a little roughed up but always alive and always breathing. She is fine. She is fine. She  _ is  _ fine. She  **_has_ ** _ to be  _ fine. 

Bow keeps his hand on her back, rubbing it up and down. Glimmer takes deep breaths, trying to calm herself. At some point, she begins to hug herself. Time seems to slow down and all her mind can seem to think about is Adora. Glimmer squeezes her eyes shut, trying to block everything out. As quickly as the attack comes, it goes away, leaving remnants inside her body. They’ll go away once she calls Adora tonight and hears her soft, sweet, angelic voice. 

“Better?” Bow asks. 

Glimmer nods. “Yeah. Gods, I don’t know what just happened. I don’t like that.”

“They sometimes just happen. Nothing to worry about.”

“Let’s just get back to the castle. I want to forget about this.”

That night, Glimmer lies awake in her bed, waiting for a response on her communicator. Nothing. She tries calling again. Sometimes signals can still be weak in some areas and it can happen at random. One day you can call just fine, others it takes forever. That has to be the case here. Glimmer just has to keep on trying. But all she is met with is static. 

Groaning, Glimmer sets it down next to her, planning on waiting a few moments before trying again. She feels anxiety twisting and knotting itself again in her chest. She places her head in her hands.  _ Everything is fine. Just shitty single. That’s it. If you can’t call tonight you can try tomorrow. Everything will be fine. _

Glimmer tells herself this over and over and over again but it only soothes her so much. But her worst fear starts to rear its ugly head. Her nails dig into her skin. 

She might be immortal. Her mother is but her father isn’t. Who knows what morality she inherited. Nothing like her has been seen before and who can blame anyone for that? Glimmer remembers all those nights hearing her mother cry and mourn for beloved husband whom she thought deceased for nearly twenty years. Angella must have known she would outlive her him but his “death” so young still was shocking. As a small child, Glimmer swore to herself she would never fall in love. Having no clue if she is immortal or not but never getting sick and healing faster than anyone else, Glimmer has a strong feeling that she at the very least will live longer than her loved ones. 

And she kept the promise for years. She never let anyone into her heart that far. Locked that part away and kept the key close to her. Even befriending Bow, part of her was afraid of her possible longevity but she still made that connection with him. And Adora. And the rest of the princesses and so many others. Yet with Adora, somehow without knowing it, she took the key and opened that door. And Glimmer _l_ _ oves  _ every second her heart beats for the warrior princess. There is nothing she would change about their bond. 

Adora knows her fear. Glimmer told her one night when she couldn’t sleep, crying her eyes out about the thought of outliving her. Adora didn’t say everything would be alright. She didn’t say that they didn’t know if that would happen. She didn’t say there was nothing to be afraid of. What Adora said made Glimmer fall all the more deeper in love with her. 

“ _ No matter what, I’ll always be with you, Glitter-Bug. I gave you half my soul and heart and that will always be apart of you everyday. Even if you can’t see me, you can always find me there, loving every part of you.” _

Glimmer takes a deep breath, refusing to let tears come down her face. It is just bad signal. Adora is fine. She has to stop thinking about that thought. It is not going to get her anywhere. Glimmer takes another check on her communicator. Still nothing. She turns it off and settles down for the night. However, there is little sleep to be found. 

All night long, she tosses and turns, unable to find peace. No matter what position she lies in, no matter how many blankets she tries, or white noise or tricks to lull her to sleep, she cannot. At some point, Glimmer ends up pacing around her room, trying to burn off the anxiety inside of her. Something in the back of her mind keeps saying something is wrong, that that panic attack she had earlier wasn’t for nothing. She pushes that back as far as she can, telling herself again that everything is okay. But like a gnat that buzzing around your head, it won’t go away. 

At some point, she finds some rest, maybe for an hour, yet it is not enough. By the time the morning sun rises above the horizon, she is lying on her floor, staring up at the tall ceiling. Her body feels like it has been wired up with so much negative energy, scientists can harness it and use it for whatever purpose they need. Glimmer finally stands up, feeling like lead, and grabs her communicator. She is not surprised that she is still met with a black and white screen. She needs to find something else to do or her thoughts will eat her alive. 

Glimmer leaves her room and finds something to do. She is not used to being up this early. Normally she is still nestled in her bed, in the safety of the blankets. Adora is the morning person, waking up at the crack of dawn. Sometimes her other half has to drag her out of bed and get to work. What the hell does Adora even do in the morning. Practically no one is around and the halls are eerily quiet. Glimmer picks up her pace. 

She manages to swallow some bread, her stomach not too keen on it. More and more people begin to wake. Every so often, Glimmer checks to see if she can get into contract with Adora. Nothing. Her stomach twists. Maybe that bread really wasn’t a good idea. Glimmer eventually finds Bow. The second she sees him, she runs over, nearly spooking him. 

“Whoa! What’s the matter, Glimmer?” Bow asks. 

“Give me your communicator! Do you have it on you?” Glimmer replies.

“I-Yeah, I do.” Bow digs the device out. “Is everything okay?”

Glimmer says nothing. She punches in the location where Adora will be and holds her breathe. Just like every other time she has tried to call, there is no answer. She feels a small prick of relief puncturing through her worry. It has to be some communication issues. 

“GLIMMER!”

“Ah!” 

Glimmer nearly drops Bow’s communicator. It fumbles in her hands before he is able to catch it before it hits the ground. “Y-Yes?”

“You know I kept calling you? Is everything okay? Have you slept? No offense but you look like crap. Did you even brush your hair?”

Glimmer reaches up and pats down her hair. She will get out the knots later. “I’m just worried about, Adora. I haven’t been able to reach her. Stuff must be down.”

“I’m sure she is fine. She always is and this has happened before, right? Why are you so wound up?”

“I don’t know. I just...” Glimmer starts to rub her arms and looks away from Bow while speaking, “I just have a bad feeling.”

“She comes back, what? In a couple days?”

“Yeah…”

“How about we give her a couple then? If she doesn’t keep answering us, we can go to wherever she is and see what’s happening.”

“I can’t leave. I have stuff to do.”

“I can go. It’s fine, I got nothing to do.”

“Thank you, Bow.”

Bow wraps his arms around Glimmer, holding her tight. “Anytime.”

The next few days agonizingly slow. Little sleep comes to Glimmer as she tries to call Adora over and over again. The day Adora is supposed to return home comes and goes without any signs of her. They wait for a little while before going out to see what is wrong. She could have gotten caught up with something after all and forgot she never sent anything to tell them that. But after about two or three days, Glimmer does not know with all her days blurring together, Bow leaves. 

Glimmer tries to busy herself. Meetings, seeing villagers, training by herself, and trying to find some sleep. Days blur together more. She cannot recall what has been said during her meetings or how long she has spent practicing her magic. Somewhere in her mind, Glimmer recalls being pulled out of the training room by someone, maybe Catra, and then her fist and cheek throbbing. Eventually, her parents intervene. They are able to convince her to allow Micah to use a sleeping spell on her. She is able to do slip into unconsciousness but when she wakes who know how long later, the only thing settled is her sense of self. 

After about three days of waiting for any word on what has happened to her girlfriend, Glimmer finally gets news. She is walking down the halls aimlessly, when footsteps behind her catch her attention. Glimmer turns her head around, curious about who is quickly coming up and not really thinking anything about it. Her eyes widen and her breath gets caught in her throat when she sees it is Bow. Without thinking, she disappears from where she stands and reappears a split second later near her best friend. Bow has barely enough time to skid to a halt and not crash into Glimmer. 

“Bow! You’re back! What happened?!?” Glimmer asks quickly. “Is she okay? Where is she?”

“Easy! Easy! We just got back and I came to look for you!” Bow replies. 

“‘We?’”

“Yes, ‘we’. Adora is fine...mostly...She’s alive, that is what matters. They’re at the infirmary getting ch-”

Glimmer does not stick around to hear the rest of his sentence. With all her might, she teleports once more, across the castle and into the infirmary. A nurse is startled by her sudden presence beside him and he nearly falls down, flat on his bottom. He opens his mouth to say something but sees it is Glimmer and just points to one of the beds in the room. There, with a couple other nurses and a doctor, Adora sits just like Bow said. Alive. But she has seen better days. 

Her right forearm is covered in a white wrapping and hung in a sling, her shoulder length, dark blonde hair is a mess, there is a crutch by her bed signaling a leg injury, and more bandages cover her arms, face, and who knows where else while come cuts are still exposed on her skin. Adora turns her head and sees Glimmer staring back at her. Her sky-blue eyes are tired but bright and she smiles widely. Glimmer bolts over to the bed and wraps her arms around Adora. However, it is short-lived when she hears a harsh, high-pitched hiss through Adora’s teeth. Glimmer lets go immediately. 

“Oh, shit! Sorry! Are you okay? I mean you’re in the hospital but gods, Adora. I was so worried!”

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Adora says, catching her breath. “Got really beaten up by a bot. That’s all. Broken left leg, gash on arm, bruised and maybe also broken ribs, cuts, etc. But I am fine. I’m alive, Glitter-Bug.” With her good arm, Adora places a hand on the left side of her chest. “I’m alive and I am back.”

“You really look like shit, Adora. What happened? I thought you were just going to deactivate some bots and whatnot? Not be thrown through a blender!”

“I thought that too. But can I please tell you later? I’m sorry. I’m just really tired from everything and I just want to rest and...think how to explain everything because it is a lot.”

“I-Yes Adora. Yes. Anything. I am just happy you are back.” Glimmer leans forward and places a kiss between Adora’s eyes. “Do you mind if I just stay here.”

“Gotta ask the doctors if you will be in the way or not,” Adora chuckles. 

Thankfully, they say it is more than fine for Glimmer to stay. Glimmer stays right by Adora’s side, catching her up on what has been going around in the castle. Slowly, Adora starts to fall asleep, her body wanting rest. The only reason Glimmer leaves her sleeping girlfriend is because she gets pulled away to attend to some things. After a day of being in the infirmary and getting the all clear to leave (however, she is not to go on any missions for a long time and to come back often for check ups), Adora happily spends the day with Glimmer. She struggles a bit using the crutch to walk with a busted left leg so they two spend most of it in their room, finding things to entertained. 

Come nighttime, Adora finds herself growing tired once more. Glimmer helps Adora into bed, for once the latter is happy to be resting on something so soft. Once she is settled in, Glimmer gets herself ready for the night. She happily climbs into bed, overjoyed to finally have Adora so close to her once again. She quickly sees that Adora has fallen fast asleep, her breathing rough from her injuries. It pains Glimmer to see Adora like this and her fear starts to creep along to the front of her mind but she pushes it back. Adora is here now, she is safe and sound. She will heal and be back on her feet soon.

Glimmer can’t help but reach out and place her arm around Adora to hug her once more, wanting to feel her warm again. But she might have placed her arm in the wrong spot. The second she touches Adora, the blonde winces and pulls away, holding her side and tucking her legs to her chest.

“Shit, are you okay?” Glimmer asks. She props herself up, trying to be careful not to send anymore ripples through Adora’s body. 

“Yeah...Yeah I am okay. Just hit a sore spot, that’s all. I’ll be fine,” Adora reassures her. 

“Do you want more of your painkillers or magic?”

“No. No. Already took the painkillers even though they tasted horrible and you know healing magic doesn’t work that great on me if at all. The Horde really made it so our bodies didn’t need anything to help heal. I’m surprised the painkillers do anything for me after not using them for most of my life like the magic. Just need a moment…”

“Are you sure you don’t need anything? This isn’t the Horde anymore. And I am sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you or hurt you…”

“I am fine, Glim. Don’t worry about it. Nothing I am not used to. It’s already starting to go away. I promise I am fine, okay?”

“...Okay, Adora. Okay…”

Adora smiles and relaxes her body. Sleep quickly finds her again and in no time at all, she is unconscious, leaving Glimmer in the waking world. Glimmer tries to sleep but like the past few nights, she finds it hard. And if she has gotten any, it is barely worth noting. At some point in the night with her fears and anxiety starting to boil to the surface, she gives up trying to sleep at all and decides to keep her eyes on Adora. 

In the moonlight, she watches Adora’s chest rise and fall in a steady rhythm, proof they are alive and well. Wheezes and pained noises occasionally escapes their lips as they sleeps. Her face twists as she unconsciously attempts to find a comfortable position on the soft bed. Adora’s soft blue eyes stay closed, however, her mind peacefully far away from the turmoil inside Glimmer. The queen reaches out for a brief moment, to tuck a loose strain of dark locks behind Adora’s ear. A simple, sweet, and common gesture but she stops mid-reach. No. She can’t. 

Glimmer pulls her hand back, holding it close to her heavy chest. She can’t wake her again. She can’t harm her again. In the still and darkness of a time between night and morning, Glimmer’s mind spins out of control with thoughts. Thoughts of how fragile Adora and all her other loved ones are. Thoughts on how they know roughly how much time they have. Thoughts on how wounds can take eons to heal...And thoughts how none of that applies to her in the slightest. Many would say the are jealous of the speed of Glimmer’s healing and the possibility of longevity or immortality she possesses in her bones. But it is nothing more than a curse, a burden, on Glimmer. What gift is it to see the person you love beyond all measures become sick, get injured, grow older, when you become frozen in time?

Glimmer can’t stop Adora from getting old or sick or hurt. But she can at least try to prevent the latter two. Even after all these years of being free from the Horde, Adora some days still refuse to fully take care of herself, brushing injuries off like they are nothing more than cat scratches. And now she is lying here battered and broken and all Glimmer knows is that a bot got the better of her. She won’t let her keep getting injured and acting like it is nothing only to go back and do it all again. No. She won’t let that happen again. She will keep Adora safe and sound no matter what.


	2. Linger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble with this fic so rip I am sorry for anything askfjbaksjfbksja. I feel like I only need like one more chapter fir this but idk. That's just a little fyi. Hopefully the next chapter won't take forever to figure it out (since I had tried writing this aprt before I had posted chapter 1 so its been a LONG TIME)
> 
> I also had some help figuring shit out by freezingmyblitzballs on tumblr (i think I remember your ao3 but im not sure akjvbsakjgfbsakj)

Adora groans as she is slowly pulled from her dreams. Though, she wouldn’t really _call_ them dreams. More like flashes of memories, blurred together and barely able to be told apart. What they can piece together overwhelms their senses. Smoke burning her nose, metal clanking and shouts ringing in her ears, and the taste of iron fills her mouth, tingling her tongue. In the confusion in her mind, she feels something hit her hard before she feels nothing. Everything turns pitch black and cold. Then pain from her battered body throws her fully awake. **  
**

Adora coughs as she slowly sits up, trying to shake the dreadful feeling from her mind. _You’re fine. You’re fine. You are safe in Brightmoon and everything is alright now,_ she tells herself. She can feel her heart beating against her chest, a reassurance in her thoughts. When she is in a comfortable sitting position and the feeling of needles being stabbed into her skin fade away, she starts to gather her thoughts. 

They finally came home the other night, thanks in part to Bow. Who knows how long she would have been stuck in that village if Bow hadn’t come. With everything a mess there and barely anyway to communicate, luck really seemed to be on their side with Bow. It’s good to be home, nestled in the warmth of her own bed and the safety of the castle walls. Adora looks over herself. Broken bones. Bruises all over the place. Who knows how many types of cuts she has on her. _I really got lucky, huh? Thank the gods the villages saved my sorry behind...I still have to talk to Glim..._

Speaking of the queen, Adora looks at her side of the bed. To her surprise, Glimmer is not there. That is a first. Normally it’s Adora who is up first and going about her day while her other half sleeps in or has to be pulled out of bed. Though, Adora has no clue what time it is and if anything, ishe slept in so her body could heal. Whatever the case, she should probably get out of bed. Maybe it would be better to not move about but old habits die hard. Besides, if she is careful she should be fine. Carefully, she grabs her crutch, she gets out. 

Annoyingly slow, they make their way down the hall. As they pass by people, some give her either surprised or concerned look. When she gets asked if she needs any help, she says thanks but no. All she is doing is going to get something to eat and maybe stopping in at the infirmary. Even if her body rejects painkillers and magic from her upbringing, maybe she should try it. Would make Glimmer happy most likely. Anything after that she has no idea about. She’ll figure it out later. 

As Adora draws closer to her destination, she hears a familiar voice in the distance. They round a corner and find Glimmer talking to some guards. Whatever it is, Adora doesn’t make it out as she quickly gets into her girlfriend's line of sight. In a split second, Glimmer teleports right in front of her. 

“What are you doing up? Are you okay? Do you need help with anything?” Glimmer quickly asks. 

“Easy!” Adora replies. She should have seen this coming. Can’t blame her one bit for being agitated. “I’m fine. You know me. I can’t sit still for too long but I swear I am fine. I’m not pushing myself too hard. I just wanted to get out of bed and eat and maybe see someone about helping with the pain.”

“Do you want me to teleport you there?”

“It’s not that far. I can walk it.”

“Are you sure? It would take barely any magic to get there.”

Adora looks her over. There is nervousness in her lilac eyes and she rubs her thumb over her fingers. They remember the last time they got pretty banged up, Glimmer did not let them out of her sight for a couple of days. But this is so much worse. She bites her lip. Maybe she should wait to tell her what happened. No need to get her more worked up. 

“You can walk with me to get something to eat and after that if I am not feeling up too it, you can teleport me to the infirmary. Then we can go from there. How does that sound?”

Glimmer thinks it over for a moment. “Alright. Fine. If you need anything just tell me and I will help. Okay?”

“Yeah, Glitter-Bug.”

Adora is happy to have Glimmer walking with her, even if she after every few steps she is checking her over for any signs of things being wrong. Once she is healed and back on both feet, everything will be all good again.

When the two get to the dining area, Glimmer insists on Adora sitting down and letting her get the food. Not wanting to argue about that and hoping maybe it will relax Glimmer, taking care of her, she obliges. She disappears for a few moments before reappearing with a tray full of food. Ever since getting hurt, it has been quite some time since Adora has any real food. Everything staring back up at her looks amazing. Though, eating with a non dominant arm sucks. 

“Are you going to eat anything?” Adora asks when she sees Glimmer poking and prodding at her food. 

“I had some stuff in the morning. Just got some stuff now just ‘cause,” Glimmer replies. 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yeah, I’m sure Adora. You eat up, please. You need the strength.”

Adora shoves some more food in her mouth, hoping Glimmer isn’t lying to her. They start to try and think of something to distract her with. Can’t talk about what happened yet and she sure doesn’t want to ask what happened while she was gone. No need to talk about anything relating to her injuries. “So, remember how we said that we would go get away for a bit? A vacation? Did you think of anything neat?” 

Glimmer pokes at her food more before answering. “Mystacor? The hot springs? Could do us both some good. Maybe we can go in a couple of weeks when you’re more up to travel?”

 _Annnnnnd there goes trying not to remind her._ “Alright. I like that idea. Think your aunt will have anything up her sleeve when we call to tell her? Maybe she’ll have a bunch more sweaters for us?”

This gets a small snort out of Glimmer. “Most likely.”

“What do you think she will have printed on the front this time?”

“Probably another ‘World’s Best Couple’ or something like that.”

Adora smiles. It has been some time since Glimmer’s aunt has given them matching sweaters. Who knows how many she might have stocked piled. They always are fun to wear and while Glimmer would not admit it to anyone’s face, she loves them also. 

Adora finishes eating, already feeling a lot better. Glimmer has nibbled on some of what is on her plate but when she realizes Adora is done, she helps her clean up. Once everything away, it’s time to get checked out. When Glimmer asks if she wants to be teleported there, Adora agrees. She feels like she can walk there just fine but it is a bit of a distance away. And Glimmer might feel better. In a moment after taking Glimmer’s hand, she is in the infirmary. 

She doesn’t have to wait long for someone to come and check her out. A nurse takes her to a bed and starts to unwrap and change the bandages. All the while, Glimmer stays off to the sideline, watching, intently. Every little thing the nurse does, she almost studies, not taking her eyes off of what is going on. Whenever Adora winces at the touch of hands replacing the coverings around her body, Glimmer tenses up. 

The nurse starts to use some magic on Adora’s injuries. They might only barely take the pain away but at least it feels nice. For at least a moment when he places his hands on a sore spot, it feels soothing and honestly she feels like she can fall asleep right here and now. But soon the session ends and the nurse starts to finish up. 

“Alright, Adora. Everything is looking just fine. Vitals are all good. Healing just fine. Probably better than anyone else who has never been exposed to magic most of their life. Still probably going to be out of commission for a while. But there shouldn’t be any ill side effects.”

“Ill sided effects?” Glimmer asks. 

“Ah! You know. Like having a busted leg or cut on my arm. Those should all heal just fine and end up like nothing happened.” Adora turns to the nurse. “Right?”

The nurse looks confused for a moment but putting it together. “Yeah. She is correct. So long as you don’t do anything stupid, everything will be fine. Now go get some more rest. I’ll see you later.”

Adora and Glimmer nod before heading off. Glimmer offers to teleport her to wherever but Adora denies it. She chews the bottom of her lip but compiles. She starts to follow Adora down the hallway. Adora raises an eyebrow. “Don’t have anything to do?” 

“It can wait,” Glimmer replies. 

“Are you sure? You know I can handle myself.”

“I know but still. What if you need something and no one else is around? What would you do then?”

“Uh, call someone. Glimmer, it’s okay.”

“But what--”

“Glimmer.”

Glimmer freezes. She then realizes that one of her wings is outstretched and around Adora, giving her even less range of motion. After a few moments, she retracts them to her back. “S-Sorry.”

“It’s alright, Glim. Just take a breath.”

Glimmer does as she is told. “Right. Right! I am still going to walk with you though. Alright?”

 _I guess that is fair enough._ “Okay, hon.”

They go back to walking. Slowly. Adora heads off into the library, wanting to catch up on some reading. If she is going to be stuck doing nothing for who knows how long, at least she has some books to keep her occupied and not lose her mind. When they get there, Adora starts to search for a book, trying to remember what book series she left off on. After some time of searching around, she recalls what it is. Only problem. It is just out of reach in her condition. Normally, she can just prop up on her toes and get it but that isn’t happening any time soon. 

Glimmer must have caught her eye. In a literal moment’s flash, she is above Adora, grabbing the book, before disappearing into a cloud of sparkles. In another moment, she is right beside them with the book in her hand. “Here ya go! You need anything else?”

There is a hint of anxiety in her voice she fails to hide. Adora sighs through her nose. “Yeah it is. Thank you. And no. I’m just going to go sit over there, alright? Just on the soft sofa.” Glimmer suddenly opens her mouth. Adora cuts her off, “I’ll call you if I need anything. I know you have stuff to do and just do it. I won’t move from here, I swear.”

Glimmer hesitates for a moment but slowly nods. She waits until Adora is seated on the couch and begins reading before leaving. Even then, when she reaches the door she pauses before exiting. 

_This is going to be long, isn’t it?_

* * *

Adora sighs as she lies down on the soft bed. Thank the gods Glimmer has queen duties to attend to. They love their girlfriend but she is starting to become a bit smothering. Adora can tell she is trying not to but at the same time she isn’t able to help herself. Everything she does it seems Glimmer is right on her heels. Even as time has passed and she is starting to regain strength, that doesn’t seem to have helped. From asking her half the time if she needs help with something (or doing said thing for her without much of a warning) to starting to skip some of her meetings and what not, its starting to get on Adora’s nerves a little. They had to remind Glimmer at one point not only are they twenty-two but are two years older than her. They are fine. 

That only seems to help a little. Took forever to get Glimmer to go do her duties and leave her alone for a bit. Still, Adora hopes that she will chill out soon but the longer this goes on the less it seems. How is she ever going to tell Glimmer what happened if she keeps acting like this? Saying it will only make her act worse most likely but they know it has to come out eventually. Holding it in will only cause more issues as well. 

She shuts her eyes, trying to rid her mind of the thoughts swirling around in her head. She tries thinking of anything else, like the eventual trip to Mystacor. The hot springs would do her good mentally and physically. Might even relax Glimmer more. But those thoughts quickly start to fade out and be replaced. They’re back at the village. Everything is still a blur of colors, shapes, and sounds. Smoke, blood, and shouts all fill her mind again. They can make out outlines of a large robot moving around and people trying to escape. 

Then there is something new. Something hard hits her square in the chest. The pain she feels is only momentarily. Sharp, strong, like she got kicked by something large and out for blood. Then, the cold nothingness returns. 

Adora gasps as she wakes up, not realizing she had fallen asleep. She pushes herself up on her good arm, her body protesting the whole time. It’s nothing compared to what she just felt in her dreams, still lingering inside of her. She shifts her body again to place a hand on her chest. Nothing but a rapid heartbeat and bruised ribs. They sigh in relief. 

“You okay there, ‘Dora?” 

Adora turns her head around. Catra stands on the other side of the bed, her head tilted to the side and her tail flicking behind her. Adora sits all the way up, groaning. “I’m fine. Just a bad dream. What the hell are you doing here?”

“What? I can’t see how my best friend is doing?” Catra sits down on the bed. The movement of a new weight on the mattress makes Adora winces slightly. “Still hurting, huh?”

“It’s hasn’t even been two weeks yet. So yes, I still am. How about you? Your jaw still hurting?”

Catra reaches up and rubs her cheek. “Not really anymore but damn. I forgot that Sparkles has one hell of a sucker punch. Maybe I should have talked to her before I dragged her ass out of that training room when she was waiting for you to come home. Though I got a good shot in myself”

“That might’ve been good and _really_ , Cat?”

Catra shrugs. “Anyway, how have things been between you and Sparkles? I’ve kind of been noticing she doesn’t like leaving your side as of late.”

“Fine...Mostly...She’s just worked up over me and I can’t blame her. How did you feel about all of this?” Adora attempts to gesture at herself. 

“Yeah, I wasn’t happy about that either. You honestly started to worry me when you didn’t show your stupid face after so long. But better now that you are alright.”

“Right. Now imagine what it’s like to think about that while you are possibly immortal.”

“I forgot she is some demi-being. Sucks to suck.”

“ _Catra_.”

“Right, sorry.” Catra puts up her hands. “But seriously, that must really blow for Sparkles. Can’t imagine what that must be like. No wonder why she is all over you.”

“Yeah. I’m trying to let it run its course through her. You know, not let her bottle that up. That probably is worse. But it is starting to get a little...much.”

Adora runs her good hand through her hair. Before they had convinced Glimmer to go do her work, the queen had been asking over and over again if they wanted to be teleported back to the room or not. Adora can’t recall how many times she told her it was no big deal before Glimmer was able to take a breath and calm down. Though, the second her duties are done, she is going to come and check on her. Part of Adora hopes that her queen things take a while.

A thought suddenly crosses her mind as she thinks. If she is going to wait to talk to her until it has run its course, is that just going to reignite the panic inside of her all over again? Adora really has found herself between a rock and a hard place, huh? She lets at a groan at this realization. 

“You alright there, Princess?” 

“It’s fine. It’s nothing I just…” Adora pauses for a moment. She hasn’t even told Catra the full story yet. Should she say now since they are alone and most of the initial rush of worry is over? But something holds her back. She swallows. “Nothing. Just thinking, that’s all.”

Catra narrows her eyes, one ear twitching as she studies Adora. Whatever she is thinking, she doesn’t speak it. “Alright then. Well, do you want me out of your hair or can I loiter around here.”

“I really don’t care what you do.”

“So I can set something on fire then?”

“You know what I mean, idiot,” Adora laughs. 

“Yeah I do, but it’s not like you can stop me anyway.”

Adora and Catra spend their time just talking or watching something on one of their communicators. At one point, Adora falls asleep for about an hour, free of any bad dreams. She is happy when she wakes to find out Catra is still around and hasn’t lit the courtyard on fire. Before Glimmer returns, they do a few stretches that they can manage. After some time, Glimmer does reappear in a flash of sparkles. There is nothing else to note for the rest of the day. Nothing different from what has been going on. Hovering. 

By the time night finally rolls around and Adora has managed to get her pajamas on, she sits down to relax. That nap kind of messed everything up and left her feeling awake. Guess it is more reading. She settles in and begins reading. Glimmer slowly makes her way into the bed, doing her best not to make the mattress move. After what seems like forever for her to get into bed, Glimmer settles in herself. However, she does not make any contact with Adora, keeping her wings close. Has been like this since the first night back and when Glimmer by mistake caused her pain. 

After some time of sitting in the same spot, Adora attempts to move to get readjusted. But, she moves in the wrong direction. Something about the movement causes pain to spread out all throughout her body. They wince and curl slightly into themself. _Gods, why does this still hurt like all hell?_

“Are you alright?” Glimmer moves a little closer. Adora bites down on her lip, trying to hold back another noise of pain from the movement. “Do you want me to do anything? Do you need anything?”

“No...just need...to let this pass,” Adora breathes out. “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure? I can--”

“I’m fine, Glimmer! Seriously.” It takes a moment for Adora to realize there is a growl to her voice and her shoulders are tense. Glimmer backs off. They relax their body and sighs, “I’m sorry Glimmer. I didn’t mean to snap.”

“No, no. You’re right. You are fine. You are alright…” Glimmer mumbles, turning away from her. Adora does her best to give her a nudge. 

“Look, it’s late. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like that. But I am fine and I don’t want to end the day on a bad note. What can I do to make it up to you?”

Glimmer doesn’t say anything. She gingerly rests her head on Adora’s good shoulder and looks at the book in her hands. Adora simply gives her a small kiss on the top of her head. “I love you, Glim.”

“I love you too.” Glimmer softly says.

Adora turns her attention back to the book in her hands. They don’t know how much time passes while they read before they start hearing Glimmer snoring. Somehow, she manages to get her girlfriend resting fully on the bed without waking her up even a little. She starts to think they should go to bed as well. It _is_ getting late. After Adora puts her book away, she takes another look at the sleeping woman by her.

Fast asleep, still snoring, and starting to drool slightly. Adora reaches over and tucks some pink and purple hair strains behind her ear, not disturbing her sleep. She feels bad for snapping. Something has to give before this happens again. 

_Son of a bitch,_ is all Adora can think of. 


End file.
